26 May 2026
Here's how it works: The Recent Releases chart brings together critical reaction to new albums from more than 50 sources worldwide. It's updated daily. Albums qualify with 5 reviews, and drop out after 6 weeks into the longer timespan charts.
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Debut album from youthful London based indie four piece
6.0
A succession of songs that may bear the imprint of Television, Pixies, Bloc Party and Arcade Fire (but, hey, who’s complaining? You could do worse) Read Review
Melodic fireballs such as Ghost and Always Like This marry Jack Steadman’s burnished growl with vibrant chords, swirling harmonies and even the odd mid-verse chuckle. An amiable riot Read Review
Print edition only
A great philosopher once said, “Young people are in a condition like permanent intoxication, because youth is sweet and they are growing”. If you’re over the age of 18, consider ‘I Had The Blues…’ your invitation back to the heady rush of teenaged rapture, and the rest of you, stay drunk on its certain romance while you still can Read Review
It’s astounding that a band this young can be so self-assured to not only release an acoustic album this early into careers but one that is so good, highlighting every strength the band possesses Read Review
Their debut is not an instantly addictive jewel but their blend of heavy rock thrash and soft shuffling loveliness - think Editors with added ambience and fragility - is sealed with integrity and potential Read Review
Earning high marks for their winsome indie tunes Read Review
They sound as if the Pavement and Strokes catalogues are imprinted on their synapses... there's nothing new going on, but their passion fills in the innovation gaps Read Review
It’s far more original then any of their previous efforts. However, where Flaws diverges so far from what we expect, it’s likely that any further experimentation would make the band lose focus entirely Read Review
An album that's been about three years in the works, it's difficult to hear much more than further dumpings on the great landfill of mediocre indie that's been blighting the musical landscape in that time Read Review
Led by a singer with a singularly irritating bleat and a guitarist who has you considering a moratorium on the sale of reverb pedals. More early evening festival fodder Read Review
Totally lacks bile, humour, invention, or adrenaline. Its creators have scarcely hit 20. What gives? This is duvet music, offering vague comfort but impossible to feel any excitement for Read Review
Bombay Bicycle Club: I Had the Blues But I Shook Them Loose
Ed O’Brien Blue Morpho
‘Blue Morpho’ offers a reminder that, as he and his other bandmates have repeatedly proved, O’Brien boasts a wholly-uninhibited approach to how rock and pop music is arranged, resulting in works that move and grow like the building blocks of life itself Clash
Kevin Morby Little Wide Open
Represents a musical homecoming for Morby to the Americana that is central to much of his work No Ripcord
Lykke Li The Afterparty
On a purportedly final album, the Swedish electro-pop singer’s disenchantment takes shape around sparkling synth and light-touch disco beats Pitchfork
Paul McCartney The Boys of Dungeon Lane
A richly nostalgic trip that proves this legend is still as creative as ever Rolling Stone
Tori Amos In Times Of Dragons
Her vocals have rarely sounded better. A husky tone has slowly emerged, giving her a Patti Smith croon to her words of scorn. Anyone who has followed Amos’ career to date will relish this addition to her cannon. It might, hopefully, attract new fans too Under The Radar
Full of wonder, full of creativity, and possibility, fully realized and here for our delight. Like the album as a whole this is a truly excellent piece. It features lyrics full of thankfulness as we “feel the grace in all of life, thank you for this time.” What a great note to end a special album on Under The Radar
The Coral 388
By the time the rocksteady sway of “Spirit Catcher” and the effortless pop beauty of “Crossing The Sands” close the album, The Coral seem firmly back in the swing of creating music again. Hiatus done and dusted XS Noize
Every choppy guitar line and snaking Hammond or Farfisa lick form hooks in their own right The Arts Desk
By reconnecting with their past, The Coral have found the essence of who they are now - and it's pretty magical Mojo
It's an utter delight, an album that touches on all those influences [rocksteady, doo wop, soul, ska and 2-Tone] but still sounds like nothing but The Coral. Print edition only Record Collector
It’s a lucky number thirteen for fans – The Coral remain a band to cherish Clash
Despite an unorthodox release pattern that harks back to an era before streaming, the Wirral outfit's 13th album is one of their most accessibl musicOMH
Broken Social Scene Remember The Humans
While Remember the Humans aims to recapture something of vintage Broken Social Scene, the key aspects of their old sound simply can’t be reproduced by this version of the band Spectrum Culture
The singer/songwriter makes a valiant pivot into rock, though he lacks the backbone, grit and conviction to make it work Spectrum Culture
The guitarist’s second solo outing – but first under his actual name – offers mindfulness via a widescreen prog-folk trip NME
Since we've been around, that is. So, the highest-rated albums from the past twelve years or so. Rankings are calculated to two decimal places.
Kendrick Lamar To Pimp A Butterfly
Fiona Apple Fetch The Bolt Cutters
Rosalía Lux
Kendrick Lamar Damn.
D'Angelo And The Vanguard Black Messiah
Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds Ghosteen
Spiritbox Tsunami Sea
Self Esteem Prioritise Pleasure
Hayley Williams Ego Death At A Bachelorette Party
Bob Dylan Rough and Rowdy Ways